Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Diary of A Busy Mom - Things I Learned on Vacation



Our family recently went to Disney. It was fun. We ate too much food, went on tons of rides—only one of which made us sick to our stomachs—and got plenty of exercise walking around the parks and around our resort.

A few days before we were scheduled to leave, the family snuggled around the laptop to plan our dining reservations. That’s when we noticed a problem: the travel agent booked us five-day park passes and we were only going to be in the parks four full days. Originally, we were scheduled to fly out of Bradley at 12:30PM and arrive in Orlando a little after 3:00PM. Yes, we could have gone to the parks that night, but we didn’t plan to, and why pay full day park-hopper fare and only get to spend a few hours at one park?

It took hours on the phone and me calling Southwest to reschedule our flights—not to mention an additional $200+ dollars—but in the end, we would get to use the passes we were sold.

This was an interesting vacation, filled with learning experiences.

Did you know kids can fight just as well in Florida as they can in Massachusetts? My girls screamed, argued, kicked, and told one another to “go die” most of the vacation. Next time I’m bringing ear plugs, rope, and duct tape for when they get out of hand.

Why do they even make sun block with 30 SPF? It’s useless. I bought it because it came in the type of container I wanted to pack in my suitcase. We sunburned our shoulders and the back of our necks. Even globbing it on like glue didn’t help.

Trying to get children to do homework on vacation is even less enjoyable than trying to get them to do it at home. Thankfully, only the Lil’ Diva had assignments to work on. I might have smacked my head on the wall if I had to convince two children they needed to complete homework from the hotel room.

What is it with hotel sheets and coverlets? Do they make them five inches shorter all around? One person is destined to have her rear end hanging out while the other person sleeps comfortably.

Why do so many resorts carry Coke products? And why is there only coffee available in the hotel room? After paying an arm and a leg for the vacation can’t I at least drink all the Pepsi I want and have tea bags in my room?

And what is up with those motorized scooters? I appreciate the fact that Disney is so accommodating to people with disabilities, but they are everywhere. I’m not talking elderly people, either. The majority of people riding those scooters were maybe 10 to 20 years older than me. My 83-year-old father-in-law with two fake hips and arthritis in his legs doesn’t use one, but there are out of shape people 30 years younger than him riding around Disney waiting in line for rides that state you must be in good physical health to ride them? And don’t even get me started on that investigation into wealthy families hiring disabled tour guides to bypass lines.

Despite the learning curve, we rode our favorite rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, and It’s A Small World. We took the boat rides in Mexico and Norway over at Epcot. In addition to eating at the usual places—The Crystal Palace, 50’s Prime Time Café, and Liberty Tree Tavern—we tried Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room in the United Kingdom at Epcot. Excellent food and it’s right on the water so you can catch the fireworks if you eat late enough.

I’m glad we took the trip. My wallet, however, is still crying. 

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